


Beginnings

by Acaranna



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Slash, Stiles/Derek implied, after the Hale fire, high school-au, slow-build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-03 00:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2832212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acaranna/pseuds/Acaranna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura doesn't let anyone get close, after the fire. Things begin to change when she has to work together with Lydia Martin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [happilyeveramber](https://archiveofourown.org/users/happilyeveramber/gifts).



> I only have to say two things beforehand.
> 
> First, I hope that you enjoy reading this little story. It was a pleasure to write and if you'd like a continuation - please let me know. *cuddles*
> 
> And secondly, I want to thank [Emeraldawn]() for fixing what mistakes I made.

Laura Hale is bad news and she knows it.

It’s something of common knowledge at Beacon Hills High. Everyone knows it and most people avoid her because of it. People may call her arrogant and sometimes even a bitch, but never to her face. They're too scared of her for that to happen. Laura likes it that way, though, ever since the fire.

Laura, though, keeps a 4.0 GPA, never misses a lesson and always turns in her homework on time. When it comes to partner projects, though, she refuses to work with anyone. Most of the time she can make the teachers agree with her.

Whenever that isn't possible she sticks to her three meeting rule. One to settle their topic, dividing up the workload. One to compare notes and sort through what they already have worked on. And the last one to iron out the last crinkles in their report. Laura never allows the meetings to last longer than one hour. It works best for her. And from what she can tell, none of her partners want to stay in her presence longer than that.

Before the fire, she loved being in the thick of the crowds. The buzz of voices, the excitement tossed around the air like static electricity But now it's different. Laura is different.

So it comes with little surprise that Laura isn't all that happy when Mrs. Briggs, their new Biology teacher, hands out a sheet with topics for them to choose from.

“You have ten minutes to read through these and then find yourself in pairs,” Mrs. Briggs says, pushing her glasses back up their nose. “This project will make up twenty-five percent of your grade, so you'll have to work hard on it. Oh, and of course you’ll need to work on this on your own time. We still have a lot to cover before this year ends.”

The buzz of whispering picks up the moment Mrs. Briggs stops talking, tickling Laura's ears. Laura just rolls her eyes and scans the topics on the sheet before her, automatically tuning out the noise around her. They're moderately interesting, even if they need quite a bit of in depth research. Laura is sure that she can make the project an A. If she doesn't have to work with anyone else.

The commotion around her dies down slowly, until it's nothing more than a constant murmuring between the students. Her ears and her heartbeat is thankful for that. Laura doesn't deal well with the noise. Not like she did back then.

“Laura, Lydia, it seems that it's only the two of you left. So you will work together then,” Mrs. Briggs announces, once the clatter around the room dies down completely. Laura sighs and looks up from the sheet. She should have known that something like this would happen.

“I work alone,” she huffs. Really, by now you think the teachers of Beacon Hills would have told new staff this. Beware of mystery meat Wednesday. Mr. McKenny always parks three spaces from the large oak tree in the parking lot. And Laura Hale works alone.

“This is a partner project, Laura,” Mrs. Briggs voice was grating in her ears. She barely manages to suppress another eye-roll. “So either you work with Lydia or you fail this class and you will be excluded from the Winter Formal.” The smile that creeps onto her face then makes Laura want to snarl. How one person alone can make her feel so annoyed and tense?

Being a werewolf in High School usually isn't a big problem. She and Derek are used to the scents of adolescents. Of the constant arousal that wafts through the air. Of too much perfume, a little too much deodorant or the occasional smell of pot. The thing, that always grates on Laura's control, though, are the noises.

The slamming of a door makes her cringe on a lot of days. The shrieking laughter of the girls in the locker room almost sends her running on the bad days. She usually seeks out her brother as soon as she's dressed again and allows his heartbeat to calm her nerves. Derek has a stronger grip when it comes to noises and sounds. He freaks out when certain scents hit his nose. Usually he comes to her when he needs a familiar smell in his nose.

Lately, though, it's another student who keeps him calm and grounded. Not that Laura thinks it's a bad thing, not exactly. She's only a bit worried because it's the Sheriff's son, of all people. That relationship has the power to destroy what the Argents left. Yet, she can't even be angry about it because every time Stiles is close, Derek's whole being lights up. There are moments, then, when she can see the boy Derek has been, before the fire.

“Laura? Do you understand that?” Mrs. Briggs' voice cuts through the fog of thoughts in her head and Laura can only close her eyes to prevent the class from noticing the flashing red of her irises. That would be a disaster of another kind and something Derek and she can do without.

So she merely sighs and nods her head once. She doesn't care about the stupid ball, not really. But she doesn't want to make it harder on her brother and herself. The rest of the lesson remains a blur.

*~*~*

“Laura, wait!”

Laura huffs, rolls her eyes but stops as soon as she reaches the end of the stairs. Turning around she ignores the other students rushing past her. Most of them give her a wide berth, keeping any kind of possible body contact to a bare minimum. Laura knows it's because she's lashed out twice shortly after returning to school. Some say she was lucky neither of the students got angry about it. They knew what happened to her and her brother. She could still see the pity in their eyes and she hates it.

Lydia comes to a stop next to her, breathing a little harder and her heart beats a bit quicker. Though her expression remains calm and collect, as if she hasn't just rushed down some stairs to catch up. Even her hair still looks perfect.

“Listen, I want to get an A on this one and I want to go to the Winter Formal. Now, I know that you don't like to work with someone else and I completely understand that. I wouldn't want to work with those idiots myself. So, why don't we suck it up, work on this project and then we never have to speak again. So, what time would you like to meet up?” Lydia asks, changing the grip on her bag to sling it over her shoulder.

Laura blinks, her mind reels a bit from the onslaught of words being directed at her. Tilting her head a bit she looks Lydia over. The girl is pretty, with her fiery red hair and those hazel eyes. She's shorter than her, which Laura hasn't really realized until that moment. It may has to do with Lydia's personality. She's the Queen of Beacon Hills High. Both fashion- and intelligence-wise.

But there is something else. Something that makes her wolf take notice. Maybe it's something in her scent; that mix of a cool, crisp winter morning and cinnamon. It is a bit distracting if she's honest with herself.

“You're free now?” Laura replies after a moment, shaking the feeling of unknown excitement from her shoulders. Lydia isn't a threat, she's a normal human girl. Icy and clever, yes, but still just a human girl. And right now she seems to be a bit thrown, if her wide eyes and slightly stuttering heart beat is anything to go by. So why does her wolf react like that?

“Well,” Lydia moves her hand as if to push a stray lock out of her face. It seems that Laura's reply isn't what she expected. “I was supposed to meet up with Jackson now, to talk about the Winter Formal, but I can tell him that we have to reschedule.”

Of course Laura knows who Jackson is and she can barely keep her eyes from rolling. That boy tries way too hard to become Derek's friend, for God knows what reasons. He isn't making things easier by insulting Stiles, though. Her brother can be an overprotective asshole on his best days.

“I'll wait for five minutes, if you're not at my bike by then, I'll leave,” Laura sighs, accepting that she wouldn't get out of this without at least giving in for a tiny bit. Lydia arched on perfect sculpted eyebrow, challenging. Laura smirked, wagging her fingers in a short wave, before turning on her heel leaving Lydia standing at the bottom of the staircase. Laura still likes to surprise.

*~*~*

Laura leans back against her bike parked at the far end of the parking lot. Laura preferred the part of the lot close to the forest. The scents of the trees. Hearing the squirrels rushing in the branches or the mice scurrying through the underbrush. It's soothing and relaxes her wolf more than anything after a long day. Most students try to park as close to the entrance of the school as possible to make the escape route as short as possible. Though the only thing it manages to do is make leaving school way more chaotic than it has to be.

The sound of high-heels tapping on the asphalt pulls Laura’s focus away from the woods. Her wolf has been itching to simply take off into the woods and run. Her eyes refocuses back on the parking lot. Lydia is coming towards her, but something seems off. Her expression, which usually is a perfect pokerface, seems unnaturally stony. The knuckles of her fingers are white from her tight grip on her bag.

“Okay, we can go,” Lydia says and Laura can hear the way her heart trips a couple of times before settling in a faster than normal pace. She can also smell anger coming from Lydia. It smells a bit like rotting wood and it makes her wolf growl protectively. Laura presses her lips together, centering her human self. Her wolf never acts like this to a non pack member before. So quickly or furiously. It is slightly sickening

Her gaze doesn't leave Lydia's face, while her hands open the seat of her bike to take out the second helmet. She shoves her own bag in the empty space, followed by Lydia's, who hands it over without needing to be asked. It takes a moment of rearranging the two bags but then she can close the seat comfortably.

“Everything okay?” Laura asks, not sure why she actually wants to know. It's not like she's interested in the well-being of her fellow classmates. But something about Lydia is different.

“Everything's fine, I just had to deal with another dose of male idiocy,” Lydia replies while showing an obviously fake smile. She shrugs once and puts the helmet on before Laura can say anything else. Not that Laura plans to say more than necessary but it still makes her arch an eyebrow. It seems like Lydia isn't afraid of her like the others are. At least, Laura can't smell any nervousness or fear on her. Which is interesting.

And definitely a nice change. Not that she would actually admit it out loud.

*~*~*

The drive to the diner Laura prefers is a short one, even though she makes sure to keep her speed inside the limits. The last thing she wants is to be pulled over by one of the Sheriff's deputies. Derek wouldn't let her hear the end of it.

Laura's skin tingles beneath her clothes where Lydia's body touches her own. It's not something she's used to and it makes her feel a bit unsettled. Her wolf paces inside her, not knowing whether it wants to get as far away from Lydia as it can or if it should rather scent mark the girl as it's own. Just so confusing.

Parking her bike a little away from the other cars, Laura turns off the engine and takes off her helmet. She steadies the heavy machine easily while Lydia climbs off with a bit of difficulty. Not everyone is used to climbing on and off a motor bike or to take off a helmet without looking like they've been pulled backwards through a hedge.

A snort escapes Laura's lips while Lydia tries to rearrange her hair back into submission. It's good to know that even the Queen Bee isn't always perfect.

“Just leave it like that,” she finally sighs, climbing off the bike herself after kicking down the stand and pulling the key from the ignition. Her own helmet hangs off her arm. She doesn't mind taking it into the diner with her.

“I need my bag,” Lydia says, before Laura moves to the direction of the door. This time she doesn't even fight the eye-roll but moves to take out the bag from beneath her own.

“Anything else?” Laura asks with a tight smile, while taking a cautious sniff to gauge the situation. She isn't quite sure how to act around that girl.

“Nope, I'm ready,” is the chirped answer, because of course Lydia is back to her confident self. The sour scent of rotten wood has vanished leaving only the mix of winter and cinnamon behind. Laura's wolf relaxes slightly. It hasn't felt right being surrounded by so much anger.

“Good.”

*~*~*

Having lunch with Lydia is nothing like Laura would have expected.

The Queen Bee of Beacon Hills High is clever, witty and doesn't take shit from anyone – but she isn't arrogant. There is a certain aloofness in her posture and expression but from what Laura can tell – it's actually justified. Lydia's comments are well thought out, her questions are on the point and make Laura actually think before answering them. They're nothing personal and mainly focused on the topic for their project. Every now and then she throws in a remark about something she has experienced but nothing that would demand something from Laura.

The food they've ordered slowly dwindles down to crumbs and their drinks disappear just as slowly.

They've been at the diner for more than two hours by now. It should feel annoying, caging or just irritating. Instead it feels natural and comfortable, like no time has passed at all. Laura can breathe without wanting to rip out Lydia's throat. Her wintery, cinnamon scent soothing in her nose. The girl isn't scared of her, like so many others are; that underlying instinct the human possesses which usually warns them of danger.

Though it seems that both, Lydia and Stiles, lack that specific instinct. Or they've learned to ignore it, which is the more likely explanation.

Lydia's mobile chimes just as she attempts to say something in reply and her heartbeat trips before settling on a slightly faster pattern. It's clear that she's a bit nervous about the message she just received, even though her expression remains perfectly calm and slightly bored.

Laura can tell the exact moment the message sinks in and her wolf doesn't like it at all. It growls and paces, threatening an invisible and unknown enemy. The scent of rotten wood grows again, this time it's mixed with the smell of wet moss. Possibly sadness.

“Want to get out of here?” Laura asks, much to her own surprise. “Take a ride to get our heads clear again?”

Lydia's smile is bright, despite the underlying sadness and anger. She nods once and Laura feels herself smile in answer. Her wolf howls in delight.

It feels strange, that smile, but oh so right.

 


End file.
